Following the President’s comments that the European Union is a “foe” with regard to trade, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas shared the following statement:

“We can no longer completely rely on the White House,” he told the Funke newspaper group. “To maintain our partnership with the USA we must readjust it. The first clear consequence can only be that we need to align ourselves even more closely in Europe.”

European nations have shared a similar sentiment, noting that the United States is becoming an increasingly hostile government towards international trade policies.

“Europe must not let itself be divided however sharp the verbal attacks and absurd the tweets may be,” Haas added.

Trump’s “foe” comment arrived during an interview that aired on Sunday with CBS’ Face The Nation.

“I think we have a lot of foes,” Trump said. “I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn’t think of the European Union, but they’re a foe.”

The statement was made as President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin prepared to meet in Helsinki. Trump and Putin are holding closed doors meetings without the presence of government aides — a striking contrast to the policies put in place by recent POTUS’.

Despite his attacks against the E.U., Trump has continued to praise Vladimir Putin. As Hill Reporter posted this morning, Trump has continued to blame President Obama for Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, a sentiment that was “liked” by Russia’s Foreign Ministry via Twitter with a simple message that reads, “We Agree.”